The Fifth Article
by RebelliousWaffle
Summary: Team Rainbow has seen a lot of things, but nothing like Bartlett University. Not before. Never again.


"We have an active situation."

Those were the words that started this, this _cascade_ of award ceremonies and black operations.

"The nature of this threat will require a full strike team."

"You're being deployed."

Monika "IQ" Weiss, Gilles "Montagne" Toure, Shurat "Fuze" Kessikbayev, Tori Tallyo Fairous (otherwise known as "Gridlock") and Siu Mei Lin, known colloquially as "Ying", had deployed to meet the threat head-on.

"One of our most notable institutions of learning is under siege. This is more than just an attack on our soil. This is an attack on our freedom.

"We know that all first responders have gone silent. We confirm numerous casualties due to the release of an unidentified biochemical weapon."

The words of Six were calm, unhurried, yet carried so much weight. "The newly assembled Rainbow team faces a trial by fire, against an unknown number of enemy combatants. You are to be inserted directly into the hot zone. We will have decontamination crews on standby. Your orders are to eliminate the threat and rescue any survivors you may find."

The poisonous, toxic yellow gas was blown away by the blades of the helicopter as it hovered and fast-rope cables fell. The operators slid down the cables, into the unknown below them.

"This is why Rainbow was formed. This is what you all have trained for."

The five operators moved away, into the yellow abyss, ready to fire, ready to eliminate the unknown quantity that defined the White Mask terror group. They had a defuser and steel determination that only comes from endless practice and a true hatred for what you are about to fight. These were barely adults that had been attacked, that still had so much potential; they would never make it if Rainbow fell.

But through hazy shadows, rainbows shone bright that day.

"Your time is now."

Yes, it was.

Montagne was now in the medical tent for a few bullet wounds in his arm. Gridlock was undergoing treatment for inhalation of the unidentified gas that had been released. That left Ying, Fuze, and IQ.

Fuze walked through the mess of medics, victims, and other personnel, looking around at the scene, with the words of Six ringing in his ears.

"There was no other team that could have accomplished what you did today. But this victory comes with a cost."

A police officer, clad in his dark-blue getup, held his chest as he coughed, his hazard mask still on his face. Someone stood over him, holding his hand. There was pain in his eyes, terrible pain that only comes with the knowledge that if not for someone else, you would have failed and people would have died. It wasn't his fault- the White Masks were trained, and trained well. If Rainbow hadn't been who they are, the best in the world, they would have failed.

"Our nation has been hit where it is most vunerable."

A lady with darkened blood on her face was pulled away in a red stretcher. Fuze felt a flash of sympathy for the lady. His brown eyes showed it, even while the rest of his face was covered by a dark balaclava. He had seen her on the ground during his, during Rainbow's, insertion. He remembered rolling her over and seeing the dust around her scatter. He remembered placing his hand on her forehead and closing her eyes gently, so gently. Ying had seen him do it and blew a kiss to him, even going so far as to tell him it was a nice gesture afterwards.

"But we must remain vigilant in the face of this emerging threat-"

A man wearing a green hoodie and a yellow-and-white striped t-shirt beneath wore a white mouth mask A firefighter and someone else, likely a friend or loved one, held his back and arms to prevent him from falling over.

"-as the ultimate threat of our enemy is still unknown."

A police officer was plagued with racking coughs. He wore a white mouth mask, presumably to prevent additional particles of the yellow, dusty gas from escaping. A woman in a blue shirt, also wearing a mask, patted him on the back. She had strikingly blue eyes and close-cut brown hair. She reminded Fuze of his sister.

Fuze looked forward, to a decontamination tech. He placed his weapon in the gun rack and entered the decon chamber.

A technician, wearing a hazmat suit with a gas mask in bright yellow, held up a pressurized water gun, much like a hose but with a different type of nozzle that functioned much more like a gun, and threw the valve on a pipe nearby.

Cool, clear water fell down on Shurat "Fuze" Kessikbayev, washing the dirty yellow dust from his armor. The little pellets of water blasted against him like an artillery barrage, each exploding in a way that was different than the last. Ying likely would have made a comment, something about rain, but Fuze was more than happy to just stay under the water as it rinsed the gas and dust from his black vest and other CBRN gear (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear gear, basically a hazmat suit designed for combat). He was tired. Bone tired. He longed for sleep; close-quarters combat left the heart pounding and the body sorely exerted if it continued for a heightened duration of time.

"Reactivating Rainbow was the right choice, the only choice, in these uncertain times."

He exited the tent and took a rifle from the gun rack. He checked the magazine and ratcheted the slide. Then, with a look at Ying and IQ, they strode forward with complete confidence.

"Our work is just beginning. We will track down the people responsible for this attack. We will show them we are not afraid, and we will stand ready-"

Fuze wished what had happened had never occurred, that the White Masks had never happened upon Bartlett in the first place.

A gloved hand fell upon his shoulder. Ying stared into his brown eyes with her own chocolate irises. She shook her head, removing him from his introspection. Fuze, Ying and IQ strode on, with new purpose- punish those that did this.

"_-now that Rainbow is back._"


End file.
